Trump tapping several who served in first administration for National Security Council roles
President-elect Donald Trump is filling out his National Security Council with several officials who served in his first administration.
Longtime energy adviser Brian McCormack and veteran Middle East adviser Andrew Peake will take senior roles on Trump’s White House National Security Council, according to people familiar with the matter, signaling Trump’s focus on Iran and strengthening Domestic energy production.
The National Security Council is an advisory body composed of regional and subject matter experts that helps coordinate domestic and foreign policy.
The executive secretary of the National Security Council will be Catherine Keller, according to multiple people familiar with the new appointments. Keller served as deputy general counsel at the Commerce Department and deputy White House chief of staff during Trump’s first term.
Trump appoints Florida Republican congressman Mike Waltz as his national security adviser Less than a week after the election. Walz’s congressional chief of staff, Mika Ketchell, will serve as a senior adviser and special assistant to the president, one of the sources said. Ketchel previously worked for the Republican Attorneys General Association and the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Peake was Walz’s congressional national security adviser and a former Army intelligence officer. During Trump’s first term, Peake served as deputy assistant secretary of state for Iraq and Iran and later became senior director for European affairs on the National Security Council. Just three months later, he was removed from the National Security Council. 2020 Security Survey. One source said the accusations were baseless and Pique never lost his security clearance. He holds a PhD in Russian and Iranian proxy warfare.
McCormack served as a senior assistant in the Department of Energy to then-Secretary of State Rick Perry and later served in the Office of Management and Budget, where he was known for his deep understanding of energy policy. He co-founded an organization that advocates for nuclear energy, including for military purposes.
McCormack was one of several aides who refused to attend a U.S. House of Representatives hearing on Ukraine during Trump’s 2019 impeachment. Earlier in his career, McCormack served as an aide to Vice President Dick Cheney and was in the West Wing on September 11, 2001.
According to sources, Brian Hughes, one of the spokespersons of the Trump transition team, will serve as deputy national security adviser for strategic communications. James Hewitt, Walz’s congressional communications director, will serve in a communications role on Trump’s new National Security Council.
In a November statement, the president-elect said longtime Asia adviser Alex Wong would serve as deputy national security adviser and Sebastian Gorka Will serve as senior director for counterterrorism on the National Security Council.
Seats on the National Security Council often change with the emergence of a new president. President Joe Biden’s National Security Council has grown to more than 300 members after Trump worked to reduce its size during his first term.
